New Class

This Day in Naval History – Dec. 31

1862 - USS Monitor founders in a storm off Cape Hatteras, NC. 1941 - Admiral Chester W. Nimitz assumes command of U.S. Pacific Fleet. 1942 - Commissioning of USS Essex (CV-9), first of new class of aircraft carriers, at Norfolk, VA 1948 - Last annual report by a Secretary of the Navy to Congress and the President filed by SECNAV John L. Sullivan. Thereafter the Secretary of Defense would report annually to Congress. (Source: Navy News Service)

Gladding-Hearn Takes Orders For New Class of Pilot Boat

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, The Duclos Corporation, is building a new class of pilot boats. The Virginia, Maryland, and Tampa pilots will be the first to operate the shipyard’s new Chesapeake class of 53-ft. launches. The first two boats will be delivered to the Virginia Pilot Boat Corporation and Association of Maryland Pilots next October. The Tampa Pilots’ boat and a sister ship for the Maryland pilots will be delivered in 2003.

HII Wins $504m Contract Modification for Gerald R. Ford

  Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) received a $504 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract extension to continue engineering work associated with construction of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). The company's Newport News Shipbuilding division is the prime contractor. Work performed under the contract includes the continuation of design-related activities and integration and system analysis for non-propulsion plant work.

Carrier Steam Turbine Contract Awarded

DRS Technologies, Inc. has been awarded a contract to continue to design advanced propulsion steam turbines for the U.S. Navy's next-generation CVN-78 class of aircraft carriers. The $5.6 million award was received by DRS from Dresser-Rand Company in Wellsville, New York, a unit of Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited (NYSE:IR). The design effort for this contract will be performed by the company's DRS Power Technology unit in Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Royal Caribbean Extends Options For Two $500 Million Vessels

Royal Caribbean said on Wednesday it has extended for 13 months options on building two $500 million ships to add to its 21-vessel fleet. The Miami-based operator of the Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity lines said in a news release that it had agreed with the Meyer Werft shipyard of Papenburg, Germany, to extend the options to July 26, 2002, on the so-called Radiance-class ships. Both options on the 2,100-passenger ships were due to expire on June 27

Lockheed to Commence Construction of LCS

The U.S. Navy awarded a Lockheed Martin-led team $188.2 million to commence detail design and construction of the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a revolutionary new class of naval combatant designed to dominate the world’s coastal waters. The option was exercised under the LCS final system design contract, awarded to the Lockheed Martin team in May 2004. The Lockheed Martin team will begin construction of the lead ship at Marinette Marine in Marinette, WI

Supacat’s Prototype L&R System

A new Launch and Recovery System (L&RS) developed by Supacat for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) new class of all-weather lifeboat (ALB) has undergone a two year trials program. These trials tested the system in demanding conditions and were held at Hayle, . The new L&RS design met all the requirements of the prototype specification and exceeded expectations during the trials; lifeboat crew feedback is now being used by the RNLI and Supacat to refine the

Glasgow Shipyard Inaugurates Its Saving Grace

Glasgow Shipyard Inaugurates Its Saving Grace Glasgow's Govan shipyard celebrated a welcome but rare sight on Friday as a new ship slipped into the dark waters of the Clyde - the first since the once-mighty yard's shaky future was guaranteed last year. The 643 ft. (196-m) Wave Ruler, the second of a new class of oilers for Britain's Royal Fleet Auxiliary, will be used primarily to provide Royal Navy and NATO ships with fuel and fresh water at sea.

Marine Highway Initiative Update

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved legislation to reduce global warming through greater transportation efficiencies and conservation initiatives. The major freight goods movement components of House Resolution (HR) 2701, the Transportation Energy Security and Climate Change Mitigation Act of 2007, will integrate the marine highway into our Nation’s overall intermodal transportation system.

NASSCO Begins Construction of Product Carrier

General Dynamics NASSCO began construction of the second ship of its new class of product carriers. The shipyard is scheduled to lay the ship’s keel in June and deliver the ship to U.S. Shipping Partners in the second quarter of 2009. In August 2006, NASSCO received a $1b contract from U.S. Shipping Partners to build nine ships. The ships will be double-hulled, 600.4 ft. in length and displace 49,000 dead weight tons